Dear Parent/Guardian/Family,
Bellevue School District is committed to helping all students become strong, confident readers. To ensure students reach their potential and are provided instruction to address their needs, educators will be administering early literacy assessments to all kindergarten through second grade students. The early literacy assessment is a screening of “indications of below grade level literacy development OR areas of weakness associated with dyslexia” (required by WA State Senate Bill 6162). Students identified through the screening process will be provided instruction to address their instructional needs.
BSD Screening Tool:
BSD will be using mCLASS DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming). These are a series of 1-3 minute mini-assessments to assess phonemic awareness, letter sound knowledge, phonics and language automaticity.
BSD’s Screening Timeline:
- January 9th through February 10th – All K-2 students screened with mCLASS DIBELS and RAN
- By March 10th – – Classroom educators will communicate screening results with all families
- By March 10th – Literacy Intervention Plans communicated with families
Instructional Plans:
When students demonstrate below grade level and/or show indicators of weakness associated with dyslexia on the early literacy screener, an instructional plan using evidence-based multitiered systems of support will be implemented to support the student in accelerating learning toward grade level expectations, consistent with the recommendations of the Washington State Dyslexia Advisory Council. Students who demonstrate proficiency at or above grade level will NOT have an instructional plan.
Multilingual Learners:
Students with reading difficulties should be identified as early as possible, but it is important to not confuse language development with a reading disability. Multilingual learners may:
- Exhibit reading behaviors and characteristics that look like native English speakers who have reading disabilities (but do not have learning disabilities).
- Struggle with both language and reading, and students of any language can have dyslexia regardless of their linguistic background.
To ensure BSD educators are meeting student instructional needs, ALL multilingual/English learners are included in early literacy screening except during their first four months of U.S. schooling, per OSPI guidance. As a result, some multilingual learners may be screened for the first time during the spring assessment window to ensure they have been enrolled for four months.
Students with IEPs:
The screening process is adjusted for students with IEPs that have alternate assessment indicated and educators will be communicating with families regarding assessment.
For more information regarding early literacy screening and understanding dyslexia, please visit:
- Literacy and Dyslexia Screening and Instructional Supports
- OSPI’s Dyslexia Fact Information Sheet (PDF)
- Understanding Literacy Screening (Scroll to Parents and Caregivers)
In partnership,
BSD Teaching and Learning Department
Amber Anderson & Eric Nelson – Elementary Curriculum Developers
Jennifer Rivera – Elementary MLL Curriculum Developer
Tina Bogucharova – Elementary Director of Teaching and Learning
Ricardo Macias Tamez – MLL Director of Teaching and Learning
Chitra Bhardwaj – MLL Director of Teaching and Learning
